Ronald Reagan

Wally McNamee/Corbis

Ronald Reagan 1911 - 2004

Ronald Wilson Reagan, a former film star who became America's 40th president, was the oldest to enter the White House but radiated a youthful optimism rooted in the traditional virtues of a bygone era. To a nation battered by Vietnam, damaged by Watergate and humiliated by the taking of hostages in Iran, Ronald Reagan held out the promise of a return to greatness, the promise that America would ''stand tall'' again.

He managed to project the optimism of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the faith in small-town America of Dwight D. Eisenhower and the vigor of John F. Kennedy. In his first term he restored much of America's faith in itself and in the presidency, and he rode into his second term on the crest of a wave of popularity.

But late in 1986, halfway through his second term, Mr. Reagan and his administration were plunged into turmoil by Iran Contra. Contrary to official policy, Mr. Reagan's subordinates sold arms to Iran as ransom for hostages in Lebanon and diverted profits from the sales to the rebels fighting the Marxist Sandinistas then governing Nicaragua. A joint Congressional investigating committee reported that the affair had been ''characterized by pervasive dishonesty and secrecy'' and that Mr. Reagan bore ultimate responsibility for the wrongdoing of a ''cabal of zealots."

But until the Iran-contra affair, Mr. Reagan enjoyed tremendous popularity. He used that popularity and a consummate political skill to push many of his major programs through Congress. And despite the affair, he crowned his two terms with a nuclear arms agreement with the Soviet Union that reduced the nuclear arsenals of both countries for the first time, setting the stage for a new relationship with the Soviets under the leadership of Mikhail S. Gorbachev.

Highlights from the Archives

When he first entered the White House in 1981, Mr. Reagan was a vigorous 69-year-old Republican who promised a new ''morning in America.'' In his first term he restored much of America's faith in itself and in the presidency, and he rode into his second term on the crest of a wave of popularity. He used that popularity and a consummate political skill to push many of his major programs through Congress.

I have just sent to Nancy Reagan a letter of condolence for the passing of Ronald Reagan. The 40th president of the United States was an extraordinary man who in his long life saw moments of triumph, who had his ups and downs and experienced the happiness of true love. It so happened that his second term as president coincided with the emergence of a new Soviet leadership -- a coincidence that may seem accidental but that was in effect a prologue to momentous events in world history.

In a report on his meeting with Mikhail S. Gorbachev, President Reagan said today that longstanding tensions between East and West were receding steadily as the Soviet Union makes major changes in its internal policies and structure.

President Reagan said today that his summit meeting with Mikhail S. Gorbachev had accomplished ''a good deal of important work'' and that he had found his contacts with the Soviet people in his four days here ''deeply moving.''

President Reagan, adopting a highly personal and apologetic tone, said today that the execution of his secret policy initiatives toward Iran was ''flawed,'' and that ''mistakes were made.'' The remarks by the President, made in his weekly radio address, marked a clear shift away from the defiant stand he had previously adopted in the face of continuing public and Congressional criticism.

After six years of seeming invulnerability, President Reagan has been grievously damaged by the crisis over secret arms shipments to Iran. With a unanimity rare in Washington, leading Republican and Democratic politicians agreed today that the disclosure of payments to the Nicaraguan rebels and the departure of two White House aides had probably hurt the Administration more than it helped. Some think the damage may be irreparable.

President Reagan, bringing his arduous European trip to a dramatic close with a visit to the Berlin wall, challenged the Soviet Union today to move beyond ''the dashed hopes of the 1970's'' to ''a safer and freer Europe'' in the years ahead. ''If I had a chance, I'd like to ask the Soviet leaders one question,'' Mr. Reagan said. ''Why is that wall there? Why are they so afraid of freedom on this side of the wall?"

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The verdict that said Mr. Hinckley was not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 shooting of President Ronald Reagan still legally applies, though Mr. Brady’s death last summer was ruled a homicide.